Assam police probing Tata manager's ULFA 'links'

Different agencies, different priorities -- all centering, however, on the Tata Tea-United Liberation Front of Asom imbroglio.

Thus, while the Central Bureau of Investigation stepped up its pace into its investigation into the question of who tapped the phones of certain industrialists, the Assam police prefer to concentrate on the question of whether Dr Brojen Gogoi, believed to be the lynchpin in the entire controversy, was appointed by Tata Tea as its community relations manager at the behest of ULFA.

"Investigations are on to ascertain the links, if any, between Dr Gogoi's appointment and any threat of extortion by the ULFA," a senior police official says. And even at an early stage of the probe, the police are believed to be in possession of communications between Dr Gogoi and ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, in some of which the former has even reiterated his allegiance to the ULFA cause.

The epistles, however, are on plain paper, and police officials believe this fact could give Tata Tea an out, as its lawyers could claim that Dr Gogoi was acting on his own and the company had no hand in the matter.

It is this factor that drives the ongoing investigations. For the Assam police, thus, it has become of paramount importance to establish whether Tata Tea knew of Dr Gogoi's antecedents at the time of his appointment; also, whether Tata Tea was aware of Dr Gogoi's activities on behalf of ULFA.

Union home ministry officials, monitoring the ongoing investigation, agree that the need is to establish whether Tata Tea, through Dr Gogoi, had collaborated with ULFA or whether the latter was flying solo.

What could go against Tata Tea is a simple lie. When the Gogoi controversy first hit the headlines, investigating officials were told by Tata Tea management that Dr Gogoi was out of the country, and would not return till the third week of September. However, transcripts of the phone conversations indicate that Dr Gogoi had in fact returned to India on September 8, and was in, of all places, the Tata guesthouse in Calcutta.

This is a fact, argue investigating officials, that strongly suggests complicity between Tata Tea and Dr Gogoi -- and, by extension, with ULFA.

Meanwhile in Bombay, the CBI has registered a case against a person or persons unknown for illegally tapping the telephones of various persons including industrialists Nusli Wadia and Ratan Tata, and Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw.

The case, registered on the basis of a formal complaint by the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, will be investigated by the special crime branch team headed by DIG (Bombay) A K Mathur.

The spark for this was provided by the Union home ministry which asked the CBI to conduct a "comprehensive inquiry" into the tapping of telephones of some industrialists.

Following the filing of the case, CBI Director R C Sharma flew down to Bombay for discussions with Mathur and other senior officials of the investigating team.